Attorney Jeanan Stuart, who served as Davidson County public guardian for five years / George Walker IV / File / The Tennessean

Written by

Walter F. Roche Jr.

The Tennessean

:

More than a year after the Davidson County public guardian double-billed a ward to take her on a shopping trip to Dillard’s and Walgreens, the judge in the case has ordered a repayment.

The 6.5-hour trip on Jan. 16, 2012, still cost Marlene Spalding $1,462.50, but now she won’t have to pay twice.

The double-billing and the cost of the shopping trip were exposed by The Tennessean in a story about Davidson County’s public guardian, Jeanan Stuart, who charged legal rates of $200 to $225 an hour for non-legal services. The Tennessean also found several instances of double-billing.

After the story, the Spalding family requested that Stuart be removed from the case.

On Monday, Davidson Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy reduced Stuart’s final request for fees in the Spalding case by $1,462.50 to account for the double-billing. Stuart had earlier told The Tennessean that she already had credited Spalding’s account for the overpayment.

The cut in fees to Stuart comes as dozens of pending cases previously assigned to her are being transferred to other attorneys and organizations after Kennedy’s decision to remove her from the position she has held for five years.

Stuart submitted her resignation simultaneously with Kennedy’s announcement last month that he was removing her over billing errors.

Tim Townsend, the Davidson court administrator, said in an email response to questions that Kennedy originally issued an order to reduce Stuart’s fees on May 29, but the order was issued without making the corresponding reduction in her then-pending fee request.

The reduction of her billing for 6.5 hours at $225 an hour was finally completed with a new order on Monday, Townsend said. The fee request was trimmed to $6,749.14.

Everette Parrish, the Brentwood attorney representing Spalding’s family, said he was still awaiting a final report from Stuart.

He has filed a motion asking Kennedy to order her to file the report and not bill for it.

Townsend said Kennedy does not expect to immediately recommend a replacement for Stuart but will await a report from a task force he appointed to review the role of the public guardian and the appropriate fees for non-legal services.

“It is expected that all of Ms. Stuart’s pending cases will be absorbed by these individuals and agencies, respectively, without the immediate necessity of appointing a new public guardian,” Townsend wrote.

Stuart was recommended for the job by Kennedy and then confirmed by a unanimous vote of Metro Council. She was reappointed last year, also at Kennedy’s recommendation.

Court records show 40 open cases assigned to Stuart have been handed over to new conservators.

Seven cases were turned over to the Greater Nashville Regional Council and six each were transferred to Fifty Forward and the Guardianship and Trusts Corporation. Both are nonprofits.

Townsend said some cases will also be assigned to the Michael Dunn Center, a nonprofit serving the developmentally disabled.

Sixteen cases were handed off to private attorneys with Adam Hill getting two and Travenia Holden getting four.

The court records show Stuart still must file final accounting reports in the reassigned cases by a July 31 deadline.

Townsend said Kennedy was “hopeful the task force will provide him with recommendations that he can share with the Metropolitan Council in his efforts to improve the role of the Office of Public Guardian in the next several months.”